Unique
by Mew Draiku
Summary: [MxYM oneshot] Marik is bored one day, so bored he'd slash his wrists for fun. But a strange item stuffed in a cardboard box cures his boredom. What is it? Why a robot of course!


Mew: Ohmy. This is wrong on so many levels. I seriously need to stop writing such weird fics. Oh well. And I'm sorry for not being consistant with my chapter stories, I just haven't had the chance to write, or upload anything until now. Hopefully the next chapters of Puppy and whatnot will be finished and uploaded soon!

Draiku: They'd better be you idiot. -growls at Mew-

Mew: You're so mean. -hits Draiku- Without further ado, I present this new story! Ta-da! -cheesy grin-

Draiku: Idiot...

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Unique

Marik sat in his living room, bored out of his wits. He had nothing to do, nothing to do at all, and he wanted something to happen.

His prays were answered when something knocked at his door. He slowly got up and walked to the door tiredly, then opened it just in time to see a car driving away, _way_ past the speed limit.

He blinked and looked at the box in front of him. It was taped shut, and he wondered what was inside. It didn't look like a bomb, but it did look suspicious. He took the box inside and set it down. He used a knife to open it, and he blinked.

Inside there were separate parts of what looked like a robot. He gasped in surprise.

Robots were very popular at the moment, they could be used for anything, slaves, friends, even lovers. They looked exactly like humans, had warmth, had all five senses, and could even think, sweat, make saliva, and some could feel pain with an illegal download. It was amazing what technology had done in only the last fifty years.

Marik took each of the pieces out of the box and laid them out like a CSI would lay out the skeleton of a murdered man. He made sure that every piece was there.

"Okay, I have the head, the torso, the upper and lower arms, the hands, the waist, the thighs, the lower legs, and the feet. Good! Everything's here," he said. He marveled at the detail of the robot, he looked so human it was amazing. He found something interesting on the back of the robot's neck, it was a tattoo. He ran his fingers across it in interest and suddenly, it opened, like a drawer would. Inside there was a switch. He flicked it up and the "drawer" closed. The robot's limbs instantly started to shake, even the head, which caused Marik to freak out and drop it.

The limbs somehow automatically attached, and the robot's eyes snapped open. Marik stared in awe as he sat up and looked around curiously. Finally, the robot began speaking.

"System rebooted. Current action: Finding my Master," he said. Marik gasped and the robot looked to him. "Did you put me together?" he asked.

"You could say that, yeah," he said. The robot stood and bowed to him.

"Thank you for doing so, Master. I am in your debt," he said.

"Uh…sure. Um, just call me Marik, alright? That's my name. Do you have one?" The robot straightened up and shook his head.

"No, my Master names me. Unless you want me to randomly decide a name for myself," he replied.

"Why don't you do that?" Marik said. The robot blinked, confused.

"Because you haven't ordered me to," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. Then randomly choose a name," Marik said. The robot suddenly became very still and his eyes brightened. During this time, Marik observed his features. The robot had light blond hair and tanned skin, just like Marik. He also had bright violet eyes and markings that looked like charcoal underneath his eyes.

"Name chosen. Is the name 'Malik' acceptable?" the robot asked. Marik nodded.

"Yeah, sure," he said, wondering why the robot's name sounded almost exactly like his own.

"Name saved to memory. Now scanning Master to save to memory." Malik's eyes flashed green and a two green lights appeared from the pupils. The lights joined together so they formed a bar, which moved up and down Marik's body slowly until the light retracted. Malik's eyes became their normal violet color.

"Master scanned. Saving appearance to memory. Any further commands?" Malik asked Marik, looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah, talk a little more like a human. It would make me feel more comfortable. And maybe we should get you dressed," he added.

"Talk more like a human?" the robot repeated. "How?"

"Well, just talk like me, and don't say stuff like 'name saved to memory.' It creeps me out," Marik replied.

"I see. How does this sound?" Malik asked.

"Perfect. Now, let's get some clothes on you," he said. Malik nodded and Marik took him upstairs to his room. "My clothing should fit you, so we won't have to shop for any. Here's a shirt, some jeans, and do you need boxers?"

"Well, they would keep me from being uncomfortable while sitting, so sure, I guess," Malik replied. Marik tossed the clothing to him and Malik blinked, staring at it.

"Don't you even _know_ how to dress yourself?" Marik asked.

"I know which garments go where, but I don't know how to put them on," he replied, lowering his eyes to the floor as if embarrassed. His cheeks even colored red.

"You're lucky I know how to put my clothes on," Marik grumbled. He put the boxers on first, helping Malik step into them. He then added the jeans, and finally the shirt. "Do you remember how to put them on?" he asked. Malik nodded.

"Thank you, Master. For this clothing, and for helping me get it on," he said.

"Sure, just don't call me Master. Just call me Marik, alright?" Marik replied.

"Okay, I will." But one thing still bothered Marik. Why was Malik here in the first place? Didn't his previous owner want him?

"Hey, do you remember anything about your old owner?" Marik asked. Malik blinked.

"It seems as though all of my memories before the time I woke up have been erased. I can search my system, but I may not find anything," he said.

"Then do that," Marik said. Malik's eyes became blank once more and he began making strange noises, as if he was speaking very fast. Finally, he stopped.

"I didn't find any memories. Should I search again?" he asked. Marik shook his head. The noises Malik had made creeped him out.

"No, I guess that since you couldn't find them the first time you won't be able to find them a second time," he said.

"I understand. Anything else you want me to do?" he asked. Marik shrugged.

"I dunno. Do you know how to cook?" he asked, feeling slightly hungry.

"If you give me a cook book, then I can memorize the recipes completely and make you whatever you want from that book," Malik offered.

"Okay then! Could you do that?" Marik asked. He needed to clean up the house a bit, and while he was doing that, Malik could make dinner.

"Of course I can," Malik replied, smiling.

"Then go do that. I need to clean up a bit. Could you call me when dinner's ready?" Marik asked. Malik nodded.

"Yes. I shall notify you as soon as it's finished," he promised.

"Thanks. The kitchen is down the hallway and to the left. All of the cookbooks are on the top of the refrigerator," Marik said. Malik nodded and left the room, then went to the kitchen. Marik cleaned up the house a bit, making his bed and such. Finally, Malik called him down for dinner.

Marik hurried down the stairs eagerly. He wondered what Malik made, and he wanted to try it out. When he went into the kitchen, he saw a large plate full of ravioli and pasta and garlic bread on the table. His mouth watered. Strangely enough, Malik was nowhere in sight. He sat down at the table and took a bite out of the food. It was delicious!

Malik walked in with a few napkins piles on top of each other. He set it on the table, then looked to Marik anxiously.

"Is everything to your taste?" he asked.

"Gods, yes," Marik breathed. "This is delicious. This is the best food I've ever eaten!" Malik smiled, then sighed in what seemed like relief.

"I'm glad," he mumbled.

"Do you want some?" Marik offered. Malik blinked.

"I'm a robot. I can't consume food with a purpose," he said.

"But you can consume it?" Marik replied. "I know that you can taste."

"Yes, certain types of food. If it's too watery, I can't have it. But this I can eat," he said. Marik smiled.

"Then do you want some?" he asked.

"I…I guess so," Malik said softly.

"Good, because I feel weird eating this with you just watching," he said. Malik sat down across from him and Marik divided the food so they each had half. He put Malik's portion on another plate and handed it to him, along with some silverware. Malik took a few bites out of his food, then smiled.

"It does taste quite good," he mumbled. Marik chuckled.

"Hey, what happens to the food when you eat it?" he asked.

"There's a storage container inside of me. When I'm finished eating, it burns the food," he replied. "Kind of like a stomach, except with fire. A compressor shapes the ashes into a cube, using a sticky liquid to keep it together."

"That's strange," Marik mumbled.

"Well, it's not as strange as your stomach! I mean, it's filled with acid yet it doesn't burn! And just to get rid of the stuff you don't use you have to remove almost all of your clothing and…well, you get the idea. Plus, it's such a complex system that it's a miracle that it all works together with no problems!" Malik replied in defense of himself. "At least I have a simple, sensible system! All I have to do is open this vault on my abdomen and voila! I take out the cube of ash, and simply throw it away!" Marik stared at him, eyes wide, as if to say "what'd I say?" Malik suddenly gasped. "Oh, sorry, that was bad manners. I didn't realize it until my sensors reacted. Sorry," he apologized, blushing.

Marik laughed.

"Don't apologize! You actually have an attitude! I thought that you'd be like a servant or something who isn't allowed to make snappish remarks. But I like this! Don't worry about your sensors, in fact, turn them down a bit, be a little bit…well, so you can say things in defense of yourself, tease people, and glare and such. It's good that you have your own personality, Malik," he said, smiling. Malik blinked, obviously confused.

"Turn my politeness factor down?" he mumbled. "I've never heard of a robot who's done that."

"Then you can be unique, you can be a one and only. Besides, I like the fact that you're more human than machine. I mean, when I first met you I kept thinking what I'd gotten myself into, and that I'd regret it later, but now…now I'm having second thoughts," Marik said with a kind smile.

"Unique? That's not in my vocabulary system," Malik said, sounding embarrassed.

"Unique means one of a kind. There's no one else exactly like you. All humans are unique, pretty much, but robots…I dunno. But you can be unique. I'd like that, and I'm sure that everyone else would like a robot with a sense of humor and kind of snappish attitude," Marik said. Malik closed his eyes gently.

"Unique means one of a kind…there's no one else exactly like you…" he murmured.

"Exactly," Marik murmured back.

"I've saved that phrase to my memory. And I made my politeness sensor less strict," he said and smiled. Marik smiled back.

"Good. I'm glad, Malik. Now, come on. Are you at all tired or something?" Marik asked. Malik shook his head.

"No, not at all. But occasionally I will have to rest so my solar chargers can take a break," he replied. "They constantly work and get energy off of all the light in the area, including electric light and moonlight."

"Good, so that means you're pretty much good, right?" Marik asked. Malik nodded.

"Yes. Once a month, however, I'll have to 'refill' my main battery. Right now I'm running on normal energy, almost like I'm a laptop computer and I'm plugged in at the moment. But in case there's an outage, I'll need my main battery to be full. And of course I have the emergency power which is constantly full," he said.

"I see. Well, if you want, you can sleep. Does that do anything?" Marik asked. Malik nodded.

"It refreshes my system so I work smoothly. A lot of robots move choppily since they don't sleep. They move like, well, like robots." He and Marik laughed softly. "My memory will grow larger, and I'll be able to store more information. I'll do things faster and such, and I'll use up less power than I'd normally use."

"Then by all means, Malik, sleep as much as you want! If it's good for you, then do it!" Marik said. Malik nodded. "But wait…where will you sleep?"

"The floor or couch will be fine. Robots don't really need comfort," Malik said.

"Yeah, but I'd feel bad making you sleep on the couch. You can sleep in my bed, if you want. It's huge, so there's enough space for both of us," Marik offered, blushing slightly.

"Thank you, Marik," Malik said, smiling. Marik nodded and they went upstairs and to Marik's room, where they climbed into bed. Marik turned with his back to Malik, and turned off the light.

"Entering sleep mode," Malik mumbled and was silent. Marik chuckled quietly and fell asleep as well, the blanket pulled to his shoulders.

-

Marik and Malik were watching the news the next morning while eating breakfast.

"And in world news, a man in Germany was killed by a robot. The robot says that his master made him do it, and that he cannot say his master's name. The robot will be scanned for his master's name and afterwards the German police department will destroy him," the man said. "In related news, crime rates have gone up three-hundred percent since the invention of robots."

"Hn," Marik mumbled. "It's no wonder, really." Malik sighed softly, looking to his lap. "What's wrong?" Marik asked.

"I dunno, I guess that I just feel a little…depressed," Malik muttered.

"Malik…no offense, but you're a robot. You can't really feel emotions," Marik said.

"I have emotions installed into my system," Malik said, looking up at Marik.

"True, but they're…they're not real." Malik sighed again.

"But they feel like they are." Marik sighed as well, feeling a bit ashamed of himself for saying that Malik's emotions weren't real. They weren't, but he felt that he didn't have to point it out so blatantly.

"Then what's making you feel depressed?" Marik asked, changing the subject. Malik nodded towards the television.

"That. The fact that other robots are being destroyed even though it's their master's fault that they killed someone," Malik said.

"They could just refuse to," Marik scoffed.

"No, we can't. We know about the consequences and such, but we can't disobey," Malik said.

"For some reason, I find that highly unbelievable," Marik said dully.

"Tell me to do something stupid or dangerous," Malik said. Marik blinked.

"Um…run into the wall?" he said. Malik got up and did exactly as he said. Marik gasped and ran to his side as he fell to the ground.

"See?" Malik said softly. "We have almost no free will. Whatever our masters say we must do, no matter what it is."

"So…you're like a slave," Marik said softly, helping him up, but Malik only fell back to the ground. "What's wrong??" Marik asked worriedly.

"The blow to my internal movement system must've been damaged. I can't walk or move my legs until it's repaired," Malik mumbled, looking at his legs.

"Oh, gods," Marik muttered. "I'm so sorry, Malik."

"Don't be. I told you to do it," Malik replied.

"But…you can't walk because of me."

"I can easily repair it myself. The damage can't be that bad," Malik said.

"Okay, but if it is, I'll never forgive myself. So…you have no free will?" Marik asked. Malik nodded.

"Well, sort of. It's installed into our systems, but mine is currently inactive. My master, you, would have to activate it by telling me to," he said. Marik gasped.

"Then activate it! By all means, activate it and keep it active! Even if somehow someone else becomes your master and tells you to turn it off, don't! Always keep it on!" he said. Malik stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're serious?" he mumbled. Marik nodded.

"Of course I am! I don't want you to be destroyed or something!" Malik smiled, tears in his eyes.

"Thank you so much, Marik," he said, the tears now flowing freely down his face. "I've activated my free will system."

"Good," Marik said, smiling back. He gently scooped up Malik and carried him to his bedroom. He lied him down on the bed. "Do you want any help while you repair your internal movement thing?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. Is it okay if the windows are open all the way? That way I can have constant solar power. It's easier to use," he said. Marik nodded.

"Sure," he said and opened the windows. "Do you need any tools?"

"Nope. I have an entire set of them right here," Malik said. He pulled off his shirt and managed to turn over using only his arms. The area above where his spine would be opened and revealed a long, thin box. Many tiny, needle-like instruments came out of his back and opened a section of the box. Marik shivered slightly, he wasn't used to seeing this at all.

"Um, do you need something to help you see?" Marik asked. Malik chuckled.

"No, I have a miniature camera installed in the back of my neck for this type of thing," he replied. "It isn't as good as my main cameras, but it works just fine. Thanks anyway."

"You really do have eyes in the back of your head. Or neck. Whatever," Marik said. A small camera on a metal rod with many joints on it came out of the center of the back of Malik's neck and stretched until it came to the section on Malik's back. Malik closed his eyes and the tools went to work, fixing very small computer chips and such. He finished ten minutes later.

"So you're done?" Marik asked.

"Of course not!" Malik said with a laugh as if Marik was the stupidest person in the world. "I still have to do my hip, left knee, ankles, and all ten toes. It'll take a while." The tools moved down the sides of the box and opened another section of it. The camera moved with them to watch.

"I see."

"But I've never done this before. Is it alright if you stay in here just in case something goes wrong?" Malik asked. Marik nodded.

"Sure," he replied and sat in a large chair. "What'll I do if something goes wrong?" The tools stopped for a moment and the camera turned to Marik.

"You'll take me to a repair shop. My tools will automatically close the box on my back and cover it if I become totally paralyzed," Malik explained. "Of course, I'll be able to communicate with you through writing things on paper with this tool if I have to." He made a small, pen-shaped tool move. "But I won't be able to talk if I'm paralyzed, so I wouldn't be able to call for help."

"Oh, alright. That'll be easy enough," Marik said. Malik chuckled.

"Thanks," he said and smiled at Marik. The camera turned back to the box and the tools began moving again.

More than an hour passed and the tools finally folded back up inside Malik's back. The camera went back inside his neck and Malik sat up in the bed.

"There," he mumbled.

"So you're fixed?" Marik asked. Malik nodded.

"I may be walking a little oddly for a day or so, but I'll have a full recovery quite soon," he replied. Marik smiled.

"Good," he mumbled. He looked to his clock. "Holy crap! Saturday Night Live is on!" he exclaimed. Malik laughed and got out of bed, putting his shirt back on. "Come on, let's go watch it," Marik said, grinning. Malik nodded, smiling at him. They hurried downstairs and sat on the couch, then flicked on the television.

Marik fell asleep after the program, right on the couch. Malik blinked. He went upstairs quietly and came back down with a blanket and a pillow. He gently placed Marik's head on the pillow, then blanketed his body. He smiled slightly, then sat next to Marik's feet. He closed his eyes, still smiling at Marik, and gently placed himself so he was resting on Marik's torso. He took in Marik's scent, then slowly fell asleep.

-

As the days passed by, Malik felt…closer to Marik. And Marik felt the same way about Malik as well. Of course, he scolded himself for this.

_Idiot! He's a robot. Nothing more. Not a human, a machine. Just a machine,_ Marik kept telling himself each night before he went to sleep. And then he'd have a dream in which he was making love to Malik. It was really quite embarrassing.

Marik tried to distance himself from Malik as much as possible since every single time he looked at Malik, his heart leapt.

Malik felt quite depressed one day. Every time he entered a room Marik was in, he'd leave. Every time he asked Marik a question, Marik would simply answer and walk away from him. And worst of all, he was feeling a strange emotion that even his sensors couldn't recognize.

Malik sat down, holding a phone cord in his hand. A small hatch on his palm opened up and he plugged the cord into the small hole. He then attached the other end of the cord to the phone outlet so he could connect to the internet. He looked up all the symptoms he was feeling and gasped when he got the result.

_Love._

"That's impossible," Malik mumbled to himself. "Robots don't have love programmed into our systems. It makes no sense!" He tore his hand away from the plug, causing some of his "skin" to tear, revealing the many crisscrossing wires underneath his palm. Malik stared at it sadly.

_I don't want to be this,_ he thought. _I want to be human. Like Marik. Maybe…maybe if I was human, it'd work out. Maybe._ He sighed sadly and let his hand drop to his side. _But I must get it out. I must tell him, or my memory system will implode. Or whatever the human equivalent to that is._ He stood up and found Marik, lying back in his bed and reading a magazine.

"Marik?" Malik murmured. Marik looked up with a seemingly dull expression on his face.

"What?" he grumbled in reply. Malik looked away, using his right hand to hold his left arm. He blushed slightly and Marik stood up and walked over to him curiously.

"I…I need to tell you something," he mumbled softly. "I…I think that…I think that I'm in love with you." He looked to Marik with just his eyes and cursed himself. Marik's expression was like an open book. He knew exactly what he was thinking. Marik's mouth opened and closed repeatedly as if he was trying to speak. Finally, he glared.

"I…I should've thrown you away," he hissed. "I should've gotten rid of you as soon as I first saw you stuffed in that box!" He lifted his hand and Malik cringed. Marik's hand shook in the air as if he was fighting with himself. He finally flicked around so his back was to Malik. Malik reached out with a hand to comfort him, but stopped short at his shoulder.

"Marik?" he muttered.

"Just get away from me," Marik whispered. "Just get away, machine." Malik felt as if he had suddenly been slapped.

_Just get away, machine._

_I thought that you thought of me as more than a computer,_ Malik thought. _I thought that I was your friend. I thought that I was more. But in the end…I was wrong._ He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, then left the room briskly and went into his own.

Malik stared at his shaking hands with hatred.

_Everything about me is fake,_ he growled mentally. _I'm not real. I was made by a larger machine, along with many others. I'm mass-produced. I don't matter._

_I'm not real._

He wished that he could feel pain as he tore away the fake skin on his hands. He wished that he could scream in physical agony, he wished that he could bleed. But no, he was still a machine. And machines couldn't bleed.

_Even if a devil wears an angel's mask, it's still a devil._ Malik thought bitterly. _Even if a machine looks like a human, it's still a machine._ Malik walked to the computer in Marik's office and sat at it. He watched as the metallic "skeleton" and wire "muscles" moved his hand. He curled one hand into a fist, then uncurled it.

_Fake. A machine wearing a mask._

He connected to the internet and found the illegal download. First, although, he deleted any files that would be spying on his activities. He didn't want Marik to get into trouble.

He opened a hatch on his arm and pulled out a USB cord. He then plugged it into the computer and felt the new sense flooding into his mind. After less than an hour, he unplugged the USB cord and activated this new sense: Pain.

Malik instantly let out a long cry of pain.

His skinned hands felt as if they were on fire! It was total agony, yet Malik felt that he deserved this.

And then, the pain seemed to calm down. The raging forest fire became a mere kitchen fire, then finally a candle. Malik breathed in and out heavily, staring at his hands with wide eyes. He heard footsteps coming towards the room and he blinked, then realized that it was Marik.

With that he made his decision.

-

Marik stepped into the room just in time to see Malik standing in his office, staring straight ahead. Marik gasped upon seeing his hands. It looked as if he had torn off his own skin! Marik shivered at the thought and touched Malik's shoulder.

"Malik?" he mumbled. Malik looked over his shoulder at him.

"Are you my master?" he asked. "Did you turn me on?" Marik gasped.

"Malik…did you…reset yourself?" he whispered. Malik blinked.

"I have no memory of before you came into this room, I do not know. Shall I search for them?" he said in a soulless tone. Marik stared at him with wide eyes, then looked as if he was going to cry.

"Oh, gods," he hissed. "No. No, no, no, no, no. This can't happen."

"Is something wrong, master?" Malik said, turning around. A single tear fell from Marik's eye and to the floor where it shattered. "Then…are you my master?" Marik turned around and looked to the floor.

"I…I don't know. You decide. But do you have a name?" he asked.

"No, but I have a number. It is M112. Shall I just go by that?" Malik—no, M112—suggested. "What is your name?"

"Just call me Marik."

"Alright, master Marik. Is there anything I can do for you?" M112 asked. Marik looked to the robot's hands. He gently took M112's hand in his own and he sighed sadly.

"How did this happen?" he mumbled. M112 blinked.

"I do not know. I am searching my memory system, but nothing is showing up," he said.

"Then can this be repaired? Right here?"

"I am afraid not. This type of damage can only be repaired by a professional."

"Then let's go get it repaired."

"Are you sure? I do not require the sense of touch in my hands."

"You can't feel me??" Marik asked, his eyes wide, as he looked to M112. The robot nodded.

"Of course I cannot. My touch pads are inside of my artificial skin, and since they are gone I cannot feel anything anywhere the skin is missing. However, anywhere else where there is artificial skin I can feel," he explained. Marik's eyes glazed over and he gazed into space. "Is something wrong, master Marik?"

"No, no, let's just go get your hands fixed," Marik mumbled.

"Master, I insist on letting it be. I do not require the sense of touch, and it would just be a waste of money on your part," M112 said, smiling sweetly, yet it looked so fake.

Unlike Malik's.

Malik's smile was true. He was really happy whenever he smiled, but this robot, this thing…it was just smiling so Marik would feel better.

Marik sighed softly.

"Fine," he murmured. "Then we can stay here. I'm going to bed, okay? It's late," he added softly. M112 nodded. "You can sleep on the bed in that room across the hallway." M112 nodded again.

"Thank you, master Marik, for letting me sleep in that bed," he said, sounding grateful, but Marik knew that it was all fake. Whenever Malik thanked him for something, it sounded true. It sounded like it should. "Should I enter sleep mode to save energy?"

"Yeah. Sure. Just…go to bed, okay?" Marik muttered. He left the room and went into his own, M112 staring after him. Finally, the robot walked into the room he was required to sleep in and lied down on the bed. There were pieces of artificial skin on the floor, some shaped like segments of a finger. M112 got up and carefully picked them up. He walked into Marik's room.

"Master Marik?" he said. "I found these pieces of artificial skin on the floor in that room. Are they of any importance?" Marik looked up and picked up a small piece. He touched it gently, then nodded.

"Yes. Could you set them on the bed table?" he finally said. M112 nodded and obeyed. "Now go to sleep or something," Marik mumbled, still staring at the piece of artificial skin.

"Alright. Good night, master Marik," M112 said and left the room. Marik continued staring at the artificial skin in his hand. He felt tears come to his eyes and he cried softly.

_I made him do this. I made him want to tear himself to shreds,_ he mentally whispered. _I'm such an idiot._ He tucked the piece of Malik's hand into his pocket and held his face in his hands, crying silently.

-

"Malik—I mean, M112—can I ask you a favor?" Marik asked the next day, walking over to the robot as he cleaned the television screen.

"Of course," M112 said, standing up and smiling that fake smile of his. "What is the favor?" Marik sat in the center of the couch, then patted the side next to him nearest the arm of the couch. M112 blinked and sat down.

"Just please," Marik mumbled. "Hold me." M112 blinked again as Marik lied on his chest. The robot gently wrapped his arms around Marik. "No, hold me like you love me," Marik begged, tears coming to his eyes once more.

"Love?" M112 repeated. "What is that?" Marik sighed softly and moved so his face was hidden.

"Love means that you care for someone a lot. That you want them. That you need them," he whispered.

"I see," M112 mumbled. He wrapped his arms around Marik tightly and pressed his face into Marik's hair while stroking his back.

Then he did something surprising.

He cried.

"M112? Why are you…crying?" Marik asked, trying to sit up, but M112's grip was strong.

"Please," the robot said, but in a different voice. "Let me hold you. I need you. I want you. Oh, gods, Marik…" Marik tried to squirm away.

"Okay, now this is getting a little too strange," he muttered, then noticed M112's smile.

It was a true smile.

Just like Malik's.

"Marik, don't you get it?" he whispered. "It's me. Malik." Marik gasped.

"You remembered your name, even if you deleted it," he murmured.

"I didn't delete my memories at all. I am Malik. I just acted like I deleted them to see how you'd react," Malik explained. Tears formed in Marik's eyes He hugged Malik tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he hissed. "I never should have said that. I don't think of you as a machine at all, Malik. I…I love you." Malik hugged Marik back equally as tight.

"I love you too, Marik," he whispered. Marik smiled, then laughed.

"Never do that again! You had me scared that I'd never see your smile again," he said, gazing into Malik's eyes. Malik smiled back.

"I won't, I swear," he said.

"And the first thing we're doing is getting your lovely hands fixed," Marik murmured, sitting up and taking Malik's hands in his own. Malik smiled.

"Thank you," he whispered. "And…I'm sorry for scaring you."

"Don't be. I was the one who made you decide to do it. Just please, never leave me again. Never," Marik begged. Malik hugged him tightly.

"I promise. I'll never do it again," he whispered.

"And Malik…to me you're totally human. It doesn't matter what you're built out of, skin and bones and blood or metal and wires and electricity, you have a human soul." Malik felt tears come to his eyes.

"Thank you so much. I love you more than anything, Marik."

"As do I, Malik. As do I."

_Not a machine with the face of a human, but a human with the face of a machine. Not a fake, man-made computer, but a real, human soul. Real. Genuine._

_Unique._

End

Mew: Well that was long. -sweatdrop- Sorry about that. Hopefully you could finish it in one sitting.

Draiku: You should be ashamed of yourself, Mew, making them read all that.

Mew: I didn't mean to! -whines-

Yoko: -watches them argue, as usual- Anyway, please R&R! Thanks for reading!


End file.
